Beaux Frères The Upper Terrace Pinot Noir 2022

98 Points                               Limited new release from Beaux-Freres. Wine Spectator #3 of 2016. 98 Points Jeb Dunnuck:  "The Beaux Freres 2022 Pinot Noir The Upper Terrace is from a vineyard adjacent to Sequitur and planted in 1999. A reflective red hue, the wine is a bit reduced on opening, with notes of black raspberries, dark stones, a hint of violets, and sage, then takes on more lifted woodsy spice, toast, and piney herbs. It fills the palate with a plush texture and pure, ripe fruit and has a seamless feel and a long finish. It’s going to age gracefully and offer a wide drinking window over the coming 15 or so years, but if opening soon, it will benefit from decanting." Senior editor Tim Fish says: “Beaux Frères has set the gold standard for Oregon Pinot Noir since Michael Etzel planted his first vines in 1988 in an old pig farm, in what is now the Ribbon Ridge AVA of Willamette Valley. The Upper Terrace vineyard is his most recent planting, which is situated just north of and at a higher elevation than the original estate vines. The 9-acre vineyard was planted in 2000 to Dijon clones of Pinot Noir only, and the 2017is a brilliant expression of the Beaux Frères style: dynamic, seductive and impeccably structured. It was fermented with native yeast and aged in French oak for a year." The Beaux Freres vineyards are located on an 86-acre farm in Yamhill County's Willamette Valley. Majestic Douglas fir trees comprise just under 50 acres of the farm, with the homestead and barns occupying another six acres. The vineyard is situated on 30 acres of steep contiguous hillsides that enjoy an exceptional south/southwest exposure. The property, purchased in 1987 by Michael Etzel and the noted wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr., was named Beaux Freres (the brothers-in-law). A few years later Robert Roy, a Pinot Noir and red burgundy enthusiast from Quebec, became the third member of the Beaux Freres partnership.

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